Drugs known as PDE3 inhibitors save many lives by helping failing hearts do a better job of pumping blood. But those same medications come with a sometimes deadly cost when taken for long periods: an increased risk for sudden ...

While in the past century there have been several documented examples of young, healthy athletes who have died suddenly of heart disease during competitive sporting events, a new study finds that this problem ...

McMaster University biologist Jianping Xu trekked over 30 kilometers a day through mountainous terrain and inclement weather in southwestern China to discover that a wild mushroom wasn't at the root of 400 ...

The sudden death of a young athlete always prompts full media attention, most recently spurring a call for preventative screening methods, including costly electrocardiogram (EKG) tests for all school-age athletes. But a ...

Most patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) who have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) now live more than seven years and those ICD patients with hereditary heart disease ...

Screening for a group of genetic mutations in people with a special heart condition could help doctors determine who is at risk for cardiac arrest or sudden death, reports a new study in Science Translational Medicine today. ...

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Canadian Heart Rhythm Society have produced the first-ever comprehensive guidelines on the use of genetic testing in the clinical management of inherited heart rhythm disorders, released ...

Sex and exercise can trigger heart attacks in older people who don't get much of either, a new analysis finds. The risk is low, but it's a good reminder that slackers should change their exercise habits gradually, especially ...

When Richie Quake, a 19-year-old engineering student, was found dead in his bed in Yardley, Pa.,, his family was devastated. But when a conventional autopsy of the apparently healthy young man offered no answers, his ...

Excessive release of calcium inside cardiac muscle can cause sudden cardiac death in heart failure patients. New research has revealed how this could happen, opening up new possibilities for combating heart ...

Australian researchers have come one step closer to understanding how the rhythm of the heartbeat is controlled and why many common drugs, including some antibiotics, antihistamines and anti-psychotics, can cause a potentially ...

Did you know that when you pick up a product promoted as trans fat free, you may still be ingesting a significant amount of this potentially harmful substance? An article by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine ...

A study among almost 50,000 people worldwide has identified DNA sequence variations linked with the heart's electrical rhythm in several surprising regions among 22 locations across the human genome. The variants were found ...

Sudden cardiac death

The term sudden cardiac death refers to natural death from cardiac causes, heralded by abrupt loss of consciousness within one hour of the onset of acute symptoms. Other forms of sudden death may be noncardiac in origin. Examples of this include respiratory arrest (such as due to airway obstruction, which may be seen in cases of choking or asphyxiation), toxicity or poisoning, anaphylaxis, or trauma.

It is important to make a distinction between this term and the related term cardiac arrest, which refers to cessation of cardiac pump function which may be reversible. The phrase sudden cardiac death is a public health concept incorporating the features of natural, rapid, and unexpected. It does not specifically refer to the mechanism or cause of death.